Dream of Becoming the Very Best: The Delta Trainer
by Mysterious Aureliashipper
Summary: Everybody has fallen in love at some point, right? Artemis is a 15-year-old orphan who doesn't feel an attraction towards anybody. He meets a girl named Mina and starts to travel with her through Hoenn. Along the way, Artemis finds out who he really is, and what is his destiny. Set 7-6 years before ABAS.
1. The Beginning

**Hi! It's me, Aurelia (a.k.a Mysterious Aureliashipper), and I am back with the FIRST chapter of Arty's Story. Now, this is a prequel to Dream of Becoming the Very Best, and it focuses on Artemis. This will surely not be as massive as that story will be, but it won't be Shorty either. BTW. Arty is in story 15. He is 22 in Dream of Becoming the Very Best. Just forget the statement that he looks like 19.**

**But now, enjoy.**

He heard a crash from downstairs. And then, he heard his mother screaming. The four-year-old Arty stood up from his bed and ran downstairs. What he saw, is not explainable by using words. There was a lot of blood. He saw his mother bleeding. But worst, he saw a man standing with a knife ready to stab his mother again. The man stopped and looked at Arty.

"Well, what do we have here?" the man asked.

"Get away from my mother!" Arty yelled.

"She's already nothing but a dead corpse. Now, I'll kill you too!" the man said, and laughed like a maniac. His laugh stopped instant he saw Arty.

Arty was radiating some kind of energy. Aura. The man could see it in his **emerald** green eyes.

And then, it burst out.

It caused an explosion. Arty flew straight through the window. The explosion killed the murderer. The last thing Arty could see was their house burning in flames. Green flames of Aura.

**Chapter 1**

**+10 years later**

Mina was walking on towards Fallabor Town. She was a young woman at the age of 15. She had long brunette hair, blue eyes and she stood on 5 foot and one inch.

"Oh man, almost there!" she said to the Dratini on her shoulder. That actually was not so true. She still had about eight hours of walking before she would reach Fallabor. "But hey, I should always stay positive," she thought.

Dratini just nodded.

They continued walking for two hours. Then. "Wait, can you hear that?" Mina asked.

Dratini responded by looking at her confused.

"Again. Someone is battling here! I am sure of it!" she said and started running to where the noises were coming from.

She came to a clearing on the forest. There were two people battling. Other had a Zangoose, and the other had Sceptile.

The man with the Zangoose was clearly losing. His Zangoose looked exhausted and weak. On the other hand, the Sceptile looked perfectly fine.

"Now Sceptile, finish it with Leaf Blade!" the man with red pique shirt said.

"No! ZANGOOSE!"

Zangoose had fainted.

"Return Zangoose, we fought well," said Zangoose's trainer and walked away.

"Great job Sceptile, now please return." said the other trainer.

Mina was completely amazed by that battle. "Hey!"

The trainer turned towards her and she made eye contact. "I challenge you to a battle!" Mina said.

The Stranger looked confused at first, but said: "I don't have options, do I? Oh well, I accept."

"Great! I am Mina, and this is my partner Dratini!" she told and Dratini nodded.

"I'm Artemis."

"Nice to meet you Artemis. Now, the battle?" Mina asked, filled with excitement.

Artemis nodded and said: "Let's begin. 1on1?"

"Deal."

They walked to the opposite sides of the clearing. "Dratini, your turn!" Mina said, and her pokemon jumped on to the field.

"Go, Gardevoir!" Artemis said.

**Change of Perspective**

Artemis really was not expecting a battle right after the last one. But, he was up to it. Trainer with the Zangoose was no challenge at all. This would probably be neither. After all, Gardevoir was completely immune to Dragon-type attacks. So there was that. "You can start," Artemis said to the girl.

Mina smirked and said: "Bad decision. Flamethrower!"

Dratini fired off the Flamethrower, and it hit. Gardevoir, however, was not ready to go down.

"Moonblast!" Artemis ordered. Gardevoir nodded and fired off the Moonblast dealing massive amounts of damage.

"Hang in there Dratini! Let's use Surf!" said Mina.

"Teleport out of the way!" ordered Artemis, but too late. Surf already hit and Gardevoir took damage. "Gardevoir! Finish this off with another Moonblast!"

Gardevoir succeeded and Dratini fainted.

"Dratini!" Mina said and ran to help her pokemon. She gave it Max Revive that it would heal. Artemis then walked up to her. When Mina looked up and saw Artemis, she smiled and said: "Well, I guess you won."

"Yeah."

Artemis helped her to get up and asked: "So, where are you going now?"

Mina was surprised by the sudden question but said: "I am going to Fallarbor Town for the Pokemon Contest. How about you?"

"I am actually going to Fallabor too," he replied.

Mina was not expecting this, but the company was always welcome. "Are you taking part in the Contest?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, but someone will probably kill me if I don't come to watch it," he said with slight humor.

"Someone special?" asked Mina.

"What do you exactly mean, because I don't- Oh" look of understanding came to his face. "No, not in that kind of way. She's my cousin. And her boyfriend is the one who will most likely kill me or something like that if I don't come to watch her performance," he explained.

"I see. Well, do you mind traveling with me there?" she asked.

"No, I don't."

"Well, let's go then!"

"One thing."

"Yes?"

"Please call me Arty."

* * *

They walked for five hours and talked for the whole time. They had fun. Arty explained how his father died before Arty was born, and how his mother was murdered. So he was an orphan. Then he explained how he had moved to Alola where his Uncle lived, and stayed there with his Uncle and Arty's cousin Emily. Arty had taken part on the Island Challenge, but never finished it. Then Arty and Emily had decided to travel through Hoenn. Both of them wanted to be strong trainers, but Emily decided to only train Ice-type pokemon and take part in Pokemon Contests, and Arty wanted to collect Gym Badges.

"How many you have now?" asked Mina curiously.

"I have five, and the next stop after the contest will be Fortree City," he explained.

Then when she asked about Arty's pokemon, he told about them. Treecko which is now Sceptile was from Hoenn before he moved to Alola. There when he took part on Island challenge, he received Litten from Kahuna Hala, and it is now Incineroar. He also caught a wild Pichu which is now Pikachu. He explained that it wants to evolve into Raichu in Alola because it is its natural environment. Then, when he had returned to Hoenn, he found a female Ralts and caught it, and it is now Gardevoir.

In return, Mina told about how her parents were scientists working for the Devon Corporation. They had been very supportive when she decided to become a Coordinator. She and Dratini had been friends since she was six. Mina and her family found it on a beach badly hurt. They had saved Dratini's life. She also had an Eevee, a Swablu, and Mareep.

They continued walking, talking and laughing for six hours, and finally reached Fallabor.

* * *

It was already late. They walked inside the pokecenter. Then they gave their pokeballs to Nurse Joy and sat to wait.

"Hey Arty!"

Artemis and Mina turned to look where the voice came and saw a 14-year-old girl with long hair, waving towards them.

"Hi, Emily," Artemis replied. "How is it going?"

"It has been great," she quickly responded. "And before you ask, yes, Nathan has been good to me. You know you don't have to ask that."

"I know. And you should know that I trust Nathan with my life. But that doesn't change the fact that I am protective of you," he replied.

"Overprotective some might say," said a boy who had just walked up to them. He had red hair and a red hoodie. Mina even through her laughing could tell that the boy was a fire-type trainer.

As Mina was laughing, Emily noticed her. "Oh Arty, you have made a big mistake. This will be fun," she thought with a mischievous smile. "Oh, and who is she Arty?" she asked.

"Oh no," was the only thought in Arty's mind.

"I am Mina," said Mina and shook hands with Emily.

"Arty is she someone important?" asked Nathan who had realized what Emily was going to say. "You know maybe like a-"

"No," replied Artemis while rapidly shaking his head.

"Am I what?" asked Mina in total confusion.

"Are you," Emily started and Arty facepalmed. "Are you Arty's girlfriend?" she asked.

Mina's jaw dropped and she started to blush madly. She had thought if Arty was a single, but not that far. "N-no, we actually met just today," she said. She was so thankful that Arty could not see her blush through the facepalm.

"See?" asked Artemis.

"I thought for a second that you had finally-" started Nathan but was cut off by Arty.

"Can we change the topic, please?" he asked.

Emily and Nathan thought about it for a second. "Yes, we can," said Emily. Mina's blush did not go unnoticed by Emily. "Are you by any changes, Mina, taking part on the Contest?" she asked.

"Yes I am actually," she replied, now recovered from the question's aftermath.

"Well, I hope you are good. How many ribbons?" Emily asked.

"Two. You?" asked Mina.

"I have four."

Mina was not expecting that much. "So if you win, it is your last ribbon needed?" she asked in astonishment

"Yes, it is," Emily answered and smiled.

"Well, I am still going to give my best shot!" said Mina.

"Good. Now excuse us, we're going to our room to rest. Bye!" Emily said. Then she and Nathan started walking towards the rooms.

"One thing!" said Arty.

Emily and Nathan turned to listen.

"Don't do anything inappropriate," said Arty and walked to pick his pokemon.

"Come on!"

"That's karma for you," Arty said to Mina with a little smile. "I am going to go sleep now. Good night!"

"Goodnight Arty!" she said as Arty walked towards the rooms. "I? Like a girlfriend?" she thought. "What a joke."

* * *

Mina was excited. She had wakened up really soon. Then she had gone to eat breakfast and train. Artemis joined her to train. They had fun, and the contest was getting close.

Arty went to get his stand with Nathan, while Mina and Emily went to get ready.

* * *

When Artemis and Nathan found their stands, the show was already beginning.

The host walked to the stage. "Welcome everybody! I am your host in today's Pokemon Contest! Now, our first contestant, Dalia!"

The contest went on and Arty was kind of bored. They were ok, but not amazing, with Emily's show where she used her partner Alolan Ninetales along with her Glaceon was an exception. But then.

"Now for our last contestant, welcome, Mina!"

Mina walked to the stage and Arty had to admit it. She looked great. No, more like beautiful. She wore a short skirt and her hair was openly falling on her back.

"You should not stare her like that, you're almost already drooling," said Nathan and deserved a death glare from Artemis.

"I am not! You had that kind of face when Emily was performing."

"Yes, but she is my girlfriend," replied Nathan.

"And you are a perv so-" then Arty silenced when Mina began.

* * *

"Dratini, Eevee, Let's do this!" she said and two pokemon jumped on the stage. "Dragon Breath and Swift!" The two pokemon moves clashed making purple flake floating in the air. "Eevee, Baby Doll Eyes!". Eevee turned towards the judges and used the move. "And now, both of you! Attract!".

"What did she do?" asked Nathan silently.

"Look! Those pokemon are from different gender! They fell in love with each other. Now they can not hurt each other!" Arty replied.

* * *

Mina's show was a success. She advanced to the next round along with Emily. That

Mina's show was a success. She advanced to the next round along with Emily. That means they're going to have a Contest Battle.

"And now, second round. Emily against Mina. Begin!"

Emily sent out her Alolan Ninetales while Mina sent out her Dratini.

"Ninetails, Dazzling Gleam!" ordered Emily.

"Dodge it, then Flamethrower!" said Mina.

Dratini was able to dodge it and successfully hit the Flamethrower.

"Damn, her Dratini is strong. I think I have only one option," Emily thought. "Ninetales! We are going all out!" she said.

Ninetails nodded and prepared.

"What is she doing?" thought Mina when Emily showed her bracelet that had some kind of crystal in it.

Meanwhile, both Artemis and Nathan thought the same. "Oh no."

"Ninetales!" said Emily and did X with her hands. "Our power will be strong enough to win. Ninetales, SUBZERO SLAMMER!" she said and Ninetales launched its Z-Move.

It was more than enough to take Dratini down. "Battle Off!" yelled the host and Emily received her last Ribbon.

* * *

When Emily had changed she noticed that Mina was down. She was going to comfort her, but someone beat her to that.

"Did you noticed Arty too?" asked Nathan.

"Yes, I did," she replied.

* * *

Arty walked towards where Mina was sitting and crying. "Hi."

Mina looked up and saw Artemis. "Hi."

"A-are you alright?" asked Arty.

Mina was surprised. First, about the sheer care in Árty's voice, second, about how broken Arty's voice was, and third, about the fact that he asked that from her. He truly wanted to know if Mina was alright. "I am fine it's just…"

"I know," he replied and sat next to Mina. I remember when I lost my first match. It was against Akala island's Kahuna Olivia. I was down. But then I realized that there's always a second chance."

"Thank you."

"Huh?" said Arty.

"Thank you for this. Now, the next contest is in Lilycove City and Fortree is on the way."

Arty looked at her and realized what she was saying. "Do you mean?"

"Yes, I would like to travel with you. Is it okay?" asked Mina.

Arty didn't have to consider one bit.

"Yes, yes it is."

**A/N Wow! I am genuinely proud of this chapter as a first chapter. I have to give my apologies for the terrible Pokemon Contest scene. I suck at those. But as always remember to review, it helps a lot. But now, it is Mysterious Aureliashipper Logging out once again!"**


	2. Only One Bed

**Hi! I am Aurelia (a.k.a Mysterious Aurelishipper) and welcome to the second chapter of The Delta Trainer. As you can see, the name was changed to suit the series (DoBtVB). I also decided that these chapters will be short and not a complete continuation of the last one. This is only for the reason that I cannot think of a way to make their whole journey interesting to read or even write. At this rate, there will be 10 chapters. But enough of me talking, enjoy this short chapter.**

**Chapter 2**

They spent the rest of the week in Fallabor Town to train and get to know each other better. After all, wouldn't it have been weird to just go to travel with someone you have just met yesterday? They had a lot of fun together. Like, a lot of fun. When the week was over, they decided to say goodbyes to Emily and Nathan, and leave.

It was a sunny day, to say at the least. Actually, that was an understatement. It was hot. Like really, really, really hot. They had been walking for four hours.

"So, how long will be until we get to Fortree City?" asked Mina.

"About two weeks," Arty replied.

"Okay, I can live with that," she replied. "It really is hot out here."

Arty looked at her, smiled, and asked: "What?"

"What do you- Oh. I see."

They laughed and continued walking.

"Arty?"

He turned to look at Mina. "Yes?"

"I want to ask a question."

He was surprised but replied quickly. "Okay."

Mina took a heavy breath and asked: "What was all of that fuss, with Emily and Nathan I mean?"

Arty was expecting this question to pop up. So he had an answer. "They were joking, I guess. Emily has been with Nathan for almost three years and both of them have known me for much more. So, usually, they point out the fact that I never date."

Mina was intrigued about this. She had thought that everybody would want to date. Especially as a teenager. "You don't?"

"Oh no, I have never dated anybody."

"Do you have a practical reason to why you don't?" she asked.

"No. I guess I just never have thought of anybody like that," he replied. (A/N, Arty doesn't know about Aura's Curse in this point of time.)

Mina wasn't expecting that. "Teenage doesn't have an effect on him?" she thought.

"Like, never?" she asked.

"Never."

"How do you do it?" she asked.

"I don't do it or something. It just is," he replied. "And, honestly speaking, I don't see any benefit in dating. I feel like the fact that I don't see any girl as a possible partner is just relief."

"How is it a relief?" Mina asked. This was getting interesting.

"In many ways. The first example would be that if I am a single, there are no standards for me to fill up. I guess it goes along with the fact that I am an orphan. The second example, I don't recall a single time when I have had perverted thoughts towards anything or anybody. What other men find attracting, I just don't feel the same. I think I have always just thought that girls are just slightly more intelligent version of men."

"So, you have never thought anything perverted unintentionally?" Mina asked in amazement. Artemis was a teenager for crying out loud.

"No, plus, I have heard that I am dense in these things, so that goes along with it," Arty said, just a little bit confused by this conversation. "But can we change the topic now?"

Mina realized how weird her question must have been. "Yes, it would be nice. Sorry for how awkward that question was."

Arty wasn't expecting an apology. "No, it's fine. In all honesty, you're not the first person to be surprised/intrigued about this," he told the brunette.

"Really?" asked the surprised Mina.

"Yes, but we can talk about it later. Now, let's change the topic."

They continued talking, walking and laughing. (You see the pattern already?)

But the temperature just raised the more day began to turn into night. It was already burningly hot.

"Hey Arty, could we perhaps take a break?" Mina asked while breathing heavily from the heat and exhaustion.

"Next pokecenter is 10 minutes away, can you beat that?" he asked, too breathing heavily.

"Yes, I probably can," Mina replied.

They arrived at the pokecenter, and when they went in, they found out it was full of trainers. They walked up to the desk.

"Hi, Nurse Joy! We would want to rent two rooms," Arty said.

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible," Nurse Joy responded.

Artemis looked surprised. Then Mina asked: "Well, why not?"

"All the rooms for one people have been already rented. I'm sorry."

"Well, what about the rooms for two?" Artemis asked, clearly not seeing the problem.

"There would have to be two people renting that same room. Like a pair," Nurse Joy explained, which caused Mina to blush intensely and Arty was just more confused.

"We take one of those," said Arty, much to Mina's surprise.

After they had gotten their key, Mina asked: "What are you thinking? I get that you don't see anything wrong about it, but for me-"

She was cut off by Arty who handed the key to her. "It's not for us, it's for you. Don't worry about me. See you in the morning," he said.

"But what about you? Are you seriously thinking that I allow that you don't sleep at all?" asked Mina.

Arty just looked at her smiling and said one word. "Yes." And then, he walked away, leaving Mina just standing there with her face as red as a tomato. "But you paid for this room…"

Mina began to try to find her room. "That's not right, it's more like our room," she thought. Then she thought about it and realized. "Oh God, that doesn't sound right."

She found her room, walked inside and closed the door. There was one big bed, and you could shatter it into two smaller beds. "I guess I'll leave my stuff here and go to find Arty," she said.

Her Dratini, who had just jumped to the bed from her shoulder, looked at her in interest.

Mina noticed this. "What? he paid for this room that he's not even going to use, I have to go thank him!"

When Dratini continued to look at her with a teasing smile, Mina realized what her pokemon was trying to say. "No!" she practically yelled. "I do NOT in any way have a crush on him!"

Again, when Dratini did not change her (Dratini's. Yes, she is a girl.) face exposure, Mina just said: "Ahh, whatever. You stay here, I go to talk to him. Okay?"

Dratini just nodded and Mina walked outside.

* * *

She looked everywhere in the pokecenter, but couldn't find Artemis. Then she decided to ask from Nurse Joy if she would know where Artemis had gone to.

"Hi Nurse Joy, do you mind if I ask you, have you seen Artemis, the boy I was with earlier, at all?" Mina asked.

"Yes, I actually have. He left the pokecenter, just five minutes ago," she replied.

"Okay, thanks, Nurse Joy!" Mina said and walked out.

She had no idea whatsoever where Arty could have gone to. She went to see the Pokecenter's battlefield, but he was not there. Then, she decided to look from the benches near the pokecenter. Again, no Arty to be found. That left only one option. The forest.

Mina walked into the forest and a couple of minutes of walking, she heard a sound of training. She walked over to where the sounds came from and saw Arty training with his pokemon. This was a clearing. Perfect to train.

"Sceptile, dodge it! Pikachu, again! Use Volt Tackle!" Arty commanded.

Both pokemon were completely exhausted and Arty noticed this. "Okay, that's enough for this night," he said.

All of his pokemon sat down and began to talk to each other. Arty looked at them and smiled a little bit. His team was strong, no doubt about it.

Mina decided to show herself. (Oh god, how I can make it sound so weird.)

"Uhm, hi Arty," she said when she walked to the clearing.

Arty turned around to see her. He had surprised look on his face. "Uhm, hi Mina, what are you doing here? I thought you would just go to sleep?" he asked. At the same time, all of Arty's pokemon turned to look at them.

"I just, I just wanted to thank you," she said while blushing immensely. "Thank god that is night, and that Arty is clearly dense regarding these things," she thought.

"For what, exactly?" Arty asked while looking totally confused.

"For the room. Why did you do it?" she asked. "Like, why did you pay for the room that you would not use?"

Arty shrugged and said: "Because of two things. First, you need a place to sleep in. Second, Nurse Joy is not allowed to give those rooms to one person."

"Okay. But where are you going to sleep?" she asked.

"As I told you, you don't have to worry me," Arty responded.

Mina realized that Artemis would not change his mind. "Okay. See you in the morning. Good Night!" she said and gave him a hug before leaving the clearing.

"Good night…" sputtered Arty to no-one-

* * *

Arty woke up. He was in the middle of the clearing. He rose up to see his pokemon looking at him. "Uhh, was I sleeping?" he asked.

His pokemon just nodded.

"What the hell happened last night?" he thought. "Oh right…" He then proceeded to look at his watch. It said at 9.06 AM. "Oh god. Hey guys!" he said to his pokemon. "I think we should go wake Mina up and continue our journey!" His pokemon returned to their pokeballs and he walked back to the pokecenter.

Then he walked to the desk. "Good morning Nurse Joy," he said.

"Good morning! Is there something I can help you?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. Could you heal my pokemon?"

"Okay, is there something else?" she asked.

"Do you happen to know, what room Mina is in?" he asked.

"Room 78."

Thank you!"

He then began his search for the room. It took him five minutes to find it.

He knocked on the door. "Knock knock Mina, it's time to wake up!"

He heard a crash and the door opened. Mina was standing there in a long pajama. Her hair was already as usual, and she looked perfectly perky.

"Oh, hi Arty!" Mina said. "Did you sleep well?"

"How do you know I even slept?" Artemis asked.

"Because you don't look like you would have been up for 20 hours," she replied casually.

"Well, you are right," Arty replied. "What was the crash?"

"Nothing, really," Mina said. "Dratini just is a little bit odd."

"Okay…" Artemis replied slowly. "Well, ready to get going?"

**A/N So, that was a short one. Probably the least meaningful of the chapters. But let me know what you thought about it. So, fire those reviews at me! But until the next time, this is Mysterious Aureliashipper logging out once again!**


	3. The Delta Ring

**Uh, hi? It's me, Aurelia (a.k.a Mysterious Aureliashipper), and welcome to chapter 3 of The Delta Trainer. I am so sorry for the wait. I have had a lot in my mind, so writing has been nonexisting. And this chapter is bad. Very bad. I try to get the Bonnie chapter to ABAS posted ASAP, but I never know. Hope you can get through this clusterfuck that I call a chapter. **

**Chapter 3**

Artemis and Mina were walking along Route 122. Currently, Artemis had six Gym Badges, after winning number six from Winona. Mina had three Hoenn Ribbons. So, great, huh? Not quite.

Artemis was getting anxious. He hated this route, mainly because of Mt. Pyre glooming in the distance. He hated that place. Like, seriously grandma? No interest in humans, but-

"Hey, Artemis?"

This snapped Arty from his thoughts. He quickly turned to look at the woman walking next to him. "Yes?"

"Are you alright? What's wrong?" Mina asked. She was confused. Artemis usually didn't space out like that.

Arty sighed. He wouldn't lie to Mina. That was simply out of question. "I, uh-" he started. "Can we visit Mt. Pyre?"

At first, Mina didn't catch the reasoning. Then it clicked. Mt. Pyre is a monastery. Arty's dead relatives + a monastery equals. Oh fuck.

Mina stopped dead on her tracks. As Artemis walked past her, she asked, "Artemis? Is someone you knew buried in that mountain?"

Artemis stopped too. "My mother and a-," he hesitated for a second. "Another dead relative."

Mina walked up to him and hugged him. That was unexpected.

"Artemis, I'm sorry for my ignorance," Mina said. She was worried about the teenager next to her.

"There is nothing to be sorry about. There was no way you could've known," he tried to soothe her.

Mina smiled. "Thank you." The two teenagers quickly realized their position and separated awkwardly. "Let us go then."

* * *

Artemis led Mina through the monastery, all the way to the top. Then they walked through the graves. There were hundreds of graves. As they walked, however, Mina began to notice that all the graves belonged to pokemon. No humans. Then Arty stopped. They had reached two graves on the left side of the mountain peak.

Arty stared at these two graves. The one on the left side had no name, but the right one read:

Leaf Green

1986-2009

A loving mother, still in our hearts.

"This is it," Artemis said quietly.

"Artemis, why is she buried in a pokemon monastery?" Mina asked carefully. It wasn't the most sensitive of times, but she had to ask.

Arty glanced at her. Then took a deep breath. "The other grave belongs to my "Grandfather". It is at the vault."

"It?"

How could he say it? Mina would probably be disgusted. At least, he was. _Okay, just do it,_ he thought. Sigh. "A Ditto," he finally said.

Silence. It took a while for Mina's brains to process the information.

Then.

"What?"

"It was ditto. My mother was 50% pokemon," he said quietly.

Mina was beyond shocked. Of course. So that makes Artemis-

"25% pokemon," she stated quietly.

"Yup," he stated. "Listen, I understand if you find it disgusting, I do too," Arty explained. "So if you don't want to travel with me, just say, because-"

He was cut off by Mina, who shook her head. "What are you talking about? I am not disgusted. I would never be." You could hear the pure emotion.

Artemis let out a relieved sigh. "Good, because I wouldn't want to-"

"Excuse me?" They turned around to see an old woman, maybe in her eighties. "You," she pointed at Artemis, "have to come with me."

"Why?" Artemis questioned.

"No time to explain. And you girl cannot come with us."

"Why?"

"Come, quickly!" she stated and started walking towards the altar at the top of the mountain.

* * *

Once they arrived, Artemis noticed that there was an old man, around the same age as the woman, waiting for them.

"Welcome, Artemis," the old man greeted.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" Artemis asked.

"We do, that's what matters," the woman stated.

"Okay. Why did you bring me here?"

The man sighed. Then he asked, "How much do you know about Aura?"

Artemis shrugged. "Not very much, why?"

"I'll explain," said the woman. "Aura is everything. It's the lifeforce behind everything, given to Arceus by the _Fatum _himself."

"Fatum?"

"The one behind and above of Arceus. Now, shut your mouth."

"Some humans and pokemon are born with extraordinary amounts of lifeforce. Extraordinary amounts of Aura. Those beings can control it to their will. A trained human who has sworn to protect life itself is called an Aura Guardian. Like us."

"And what does this have to do with me?" asked the very confused Artemis.

The old man sighed. "Are you sure he is the one? Doesn't seem like it."

The woman glared him and continued her explanation, "There is a **chemical** side effect with having that much Aura. It's called Aura's Curse. You can feel an attraction towards only one person during your whole life and you will fall in love with that person. You will love that person forever. But," the woman stared directly into Arty's eyes, "There is always a flip side to every coin. Sometimes, the person won't return your feelings. Then you will become what is called a **Heartbroken One**. There have been **four **of these people, ever and only one can exist at a time."

Artemis held up his both hands. "So wait," he shook his head, "You are telling me I have extraordinary Aura?"

"Yeap," the old man answered. "Pretty much."

"Come here," said the woman pointing at the altar. There were two orbs there. A red one and a blue one. Artemis walked up to the altar. "Now put your hand in the middle."

Artemis did that. For a moment nothing happened. Then the cracks in the stone started to glow green. Emerald green. A piece of the stone broke down revealing a ring with a keystone attached on to it.

The old woman picked it up. "This is the Delta Ring. It is an Aura artifact. The stone is made of the Giant Rock that Team Flare used in their attempt to destroy the world. It has a special connection to the Sky High pokemon." Then she handed it to Artemis. "It's yours."

"What?" questioned Artemis. "Why me?"

"Shut up and take it. Now, leave."

Artemis blinked. Then he started to walk back to Mina.

As the old couple watched him leave with her, the man asked, "Why did you give him hope?"

"About love? That's because there still is some. And maybe, just maybe the darkness will be averted."


End file.
